Experience
I have announced my candidacy for Mayor of Petaluma because qualifications and experience are going to be more important than ever before. I have the experience and the track record. You can trust me to get the job done for you. My guiding principal throughout my time in government has been and will continue to be….”You shouldn’t have to fight City Hall….City Hall should fight for you.” It is not a slogan, but rather a philosophy.
I offer a wealth of experience and as the past Mayor, and current member of the city council, I know what the mayor's job is, and more importantly I have proven I can do it. I served as Mayor of Petaluma from 2003 through 2006 with a pledge to return functionality to city hall. During that period we fixed streets, revitalized downtown, increased our sales tax base, and approved and started the now complete waste water treatment facility.
Petaluma is unique in Sonoma County, as the only city with a directly elected mayor. In the other eight cities the mayor is chosen from amongst the elected members of the city council.
In Petaluma the voters choose the Mayor and it is a very different function than being a member of the council. The Mayor serves as ceremonial head of the city, and as such attends many more functions and most likely becomes more in touch with a broader base of constituents than any other Petaluma official.
In addition the mayor is responsible for conducting the meetings and as such needs to be well abreast of the information to make sure everything is disclosed and revealed to the public to enable the city council to make an informed decision. The mayor as such when conducting the meetings is able to make sure that the information is revealed to the public which allows for an opportunity for intelligent public comment which will allow the council members to be in greater touch with the consensus of the greater community.
In addition to my work as a professional broadcaster I have worked in municipal securities for the past twenty years. My experience in government includes my current tenure as a member of the city council, the past mayor, and a former chairman of the Petaluma Planning Commission.
The current mayor Pam Torliatt has done a wonderful job for our community during her 17 years of public service. She has served Petaluma as a planning commissioner, council member, is currently the Mayor, and the strongest of the candidates or potential candidates in the race to succeed Mike Kerns as our next Supervisor. With Mayor Torliatt entering the race for Supervisor I have decided to once again seek the office of Mayor of our fine town. This is an opportunity to coordinate city and county efforts and maximize our potential in Petaluma as well as the county. I look forward to hearing from members of the public as we continue to strive to make this an even greater community to live in.